CHENNAI: After a good two decades, Chennai is all set to get 62 km-long Outer Ring Road to ease the flow of traffic moving from Southern districts to Andhra Pradesh and beyond. The ORR from Vandalur to Minjur is on the verge of completion and is likely to be opened in the first week of November.
Though the first phase of this project — Vandalur to Nemilichery — was opened to traffic as early as 2014, the second phase — Nemilichery to Minjur — was being delayed due to issues with land acquisition. “The final bit of the project, a 210-metre stretch, that was being delayed due to land acquisition is on the verge of completion,” said an official with the road development corporation.
The entire stretch will be thrown open to public in November. The development of ORR was taken up as part of the recommendations made in the first master plan for Chennai, to reduce traffic congestion by connecting the National Highways to the city.
The Second Master Plan also identified areas along ORR as potential areas to absorb the future growth. The ORR will also be key for the development of Tidel Park-3 in Pattabhiram, spread across 5.57 lakh square feet and generating over 25,000 jobs.
Hunt on for consultant to prepare feasibility report for 50-m stretch
The entire stretch of ORR, once opened, will have four toll booths. The first booth will be located at Varadharajapuram for the section of road from Vandalur to Nazarthpet (19.65 km) and the second, in Kolappancheri for the stretch which ends in Nemilichery (29.65 km).
The third toll booth will be set up at Palavedu for the section of road from Nemillichery to Padiyanallur (47.90 km) and the last booth will be set up at Chinnamullaivoyal for the section of road from Padiyanallur to Minjur (60.15 km).
The toll plazas will be developed by Tamil Nadu Road Development Company, which will also collect user fee for Chennai Outer Ring Road. It is learnt that the government will create a corpus fund from the collection so that it can be utilised for new projects. Meanwhile, it is learnt that Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited is seeking to hire a consultant for preparing a feasibility report to develop the 50-metre stretch along Outer Ring Road.
The proposal for feasibility report for the development of the 50-metre-wide strip of land abutting ORR also comes in the backdrop of L&T Ramboll submitting a final report three to four years ago and the TNRDC, in association with CMDA, commissioning SOWIL Limited to prepare a Detailed Feasibility Report (DFR) for ORR back in 2004.
The total strip of land acquired for development of ORR corridor is 122 m in which 50m is being used for road development (25 metre for each carriageway). Twenty-two metre strip of land between left and right carriageway is reserved for public transport corridor and the remaining 50-metre-wide strip on eastern side of ORR is reserved for commercial developments as per the earlier plan of CMDA.
Corpus fund
The four toll plazas will be developed by Tamil Nadu Road Development Company, which will also collect user fee for Chennai Outer Ring Road. It is learnt that the government will create a corpus fund from the collection so that it can be utilised for new projects